Press Highlights
MSNBC - Andrea Mitchell
“The film is extraordinary!”
New York Times
"Charlotte Juergens accompanies D-Day veterans to Omaha Beach in a documentary said to take an essay-film approach akin to the work of Agnès Varda or Ross McElwee"
Niagara Gazette
“Juergens’ filmmaking style is classic cinema verite: the cinema of truth. There is no artifice. There are no special effects. She’s never intrusive. She holds her camera at a soft angle. She lets her subjects control what the lens and in-camera microphone will discover. Their faces are iconic.”
Saturday Evening Post
"In a disarmingly sweet film that is part historical documentary, part home movie, Juergens provides the men with a chance to make one final plea that the world not forget the things they did and saw."
Film Critic Jim Schembri
“Extremely well-edited and briskly paced, Sunken Roads is an unconventional war documentary, and all the better for its verite approach, which offers a retelling of a history-changing event that is highly personal, often touching and replete with insights into the realities of battle and the true cost of war.”
Film Critic Matthew Pejkovic
“Beautifully crafted and incredibly emotional... an experience where history, memory, and the spirit of those who served during WWII are felt in every frame... Juergens succeeds in making her first feature a triumphantly impactful one.”
JumpCut
“[Juergens] manages to capture an innate gentleness and twinkly-eyed mischief in all of these men... Sunken Roads brings a hugely personal touch to such a massive moment in history. It is, at times, a very emotional watch.”
Alliance of Women Film Journalists
“Sunken Roads is an exploration of memory. Juergens’ mellifluous voice serves as escort as she not only describes the current and historic events but also analyzes her own ceremonial responses and familial connections.”
Electronic Press Kit
Includes Director’s Statements
& links to all media coverage
Screenings & Honors
Theatrical, Streaming & DVD Release
Nationwide Theatrical Release - Live & Virtual (November-December 2021)
Sunken Roads opened to live audiences at the Cinema Village Theater in NYC, the Laemmle Royal Theater in Los Angeles, and the Aperture Cinema in Winston-Salem, NC. The film released on ‘virtual cinema' via the Rafael Film Center (San Rafael, CA), Tallahassee Film Society (Tallahassee, FL), North Park Theatre (Buffalo, NY), DasFilm Fest (Corvallis, OR), Kiggins Theatre (Vancouver, WA), Bijou Theatre (Lincoln City, OR), Gold Coast Film Festival (Great Neck, NY), and Salem Cinema (Salem, OR).
Streaming, DVD & Blu-Ray Release (May-November 2022)
Sunken Roads is represented by the celebrated independent film distributor First Run Features. Following the film's theatrical release in Nov and Dec 2021, Sunken Roads was released on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vimeo on Demand and DVD in May, 2022, and on Blu-Ray in November 2022.
Kanopy Educational Release, October 2020
Sunken Roads released on the educational platform Kanopy.
Museum Screenings
National Museum of the U.S. Army (November 2021-May 2022)
Partnered with the museum to present seven special screenings of Sunken Roads and four Q&As over Memorial Day Weekend. First documentary to ever screen at the museum.
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (June 8 2019, December 19, 2021)
Invited to present Sunken Roads for the Museum's commemorations for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in 2019. Invited back in 2021, when the Museum screened Sunken Roads in honor of the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Cleveland Museum of Art, May 31-June 1, 2020
Two special screenings at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Postponed due to COVID-19.
National WWII Museum, June 4 - 5 2019
Sunken Roads screening and talkback as the opening event for the Museum’s weeklong commemorations honoring the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. The Museum also screened Sunken Roads aboard two cruise ships off the coast of Omaha Beach on June 5.
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, June 6 2019
Presented Sunken Roads for an audience of 500 on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.
Film Festivals
Coastline Children’s Film Festival, March 7, 2023
Sunken Roads chosen as an Official Festival Selection.
Normandie-World War II International Film Festival, June 5-7, 2020
Sunken Roads awarded the prize for Outstanding Feature Documentary.
Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, June 1-4, 2020
Sunken Roads chosen as an Official Festival Selection.
Visions du Réel Film Festival, April 24 - May 2, 2020
Sunken Roads selected for the Visions du Réel Media Library.
Gene Siskel Film Center, Jan 12 & 15, 2020
Sunken Roads selected as part of the Center’s 2020 “Stranger Than Fiction” series.
G.I. Film Festival, Sep 28 2019
Sunken Roads nominated for Best Feature Documentary.
Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, Aug 25 2019
Sunken Roads chosen as an Official Festival Selection.
Community & University Screenings
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (June 15, 2022)
Professor Susan Winnet assigned Sunken Roads for her BA/MA seminar on “Remembering World War II” in the University of Düsseldorf’s American Studies department. Director Charlotte Juergens participated in a virtual Q&A with students.
University of Michigan (September 27, 2022 & November 9, 2021)
Professor Kristin Hass assigned Sunken Roads for her seminar “Monuments Matter” in the University of Michigan’s American Studies department. Participated in two screenings of selected scenes and Q&As with students.
Yale Club of New York City (May 22, 2022)
Screening of Sunken Roads and Q&A in advance of the film’s DVD and streaming release.
Virtual Sneak Preview, June 4-June 21, 2020
Virtual sneak preview sponsored by the G.I. Film Festival, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, 29th Division Association, USS Midway Museum, World War II Foundation, Normandie-World War II International Film Festival, and the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival.
Florida State University, Memorial Day Weekend 2020
Invited by FSU's Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to present Sunken Roads at a new conference on WWII Memory. Deferred due to COVID-19.
U.S. 29th Infantry Division, September 2014
Director Charlotte Juergens offered honorary membership in the 29th Infantry Division in recognition of Sunken Roads: Three Generations After D-Day.
